Nature Journal

Notes about birds, mammals, wildflowers, insects, and more



	Sunday, December 7, 2003

	We've had about 20 inches of snow over the past two days. I enjoy watching the different ways the snow falls. Sometimes gently, sometimes furiously. Sometimes it comes straight down and sometimes it's blowing.
	This morning, I saw a whitetail doe slowly making her way through the deep snow - stopping now and then to browse. She was walking along one of the deer trails near my house. Then she wandered off under a white pine tree and was out of sight.


	Friday, December 5, 2003

	This morning, the trees were full of frost. When the sun was shining, they took on a beautiful glow. I saw fresh deer tracks outside the house when I woke up today, so I guess the deer are still making nighttime visits.


	Wednesday, December 3, 2003

	We've got a couple of inches of snow on the ground now. Today at dawn, I heard the "chink, chink, chink" sound of a deer walking in the snow below my bedroom window. Took a peek and, sure enough, it was a doe browsing on some weeds. When I went out later, I also saw the tracks of two red foxes who had been trotting side by side. One set of tracks was larger than the other.


	Sunday, November 16, 2003

	Just as I was drifting off to sleep last night, I heard the "hoo-hoo-hoohoo" call of a barred owl in the distance. A beautiful sound to go to sleep to!


	Friday, November 14, 2003

	We've been having some pretty evening skies lately. I'm always amazed at how the same mountains can look so different depending on the weather, time of day, time of year, etc.


	Wednesday, November 12, 2003

	I've been hearing the call of a pileated woodpecker almost every day for the past week or so. Mostly in the mornings. Tried to locate it by looking out the windows, but no luck. When I hear it call, it's usually a little too early in the morning for me to want to venture outside.


	Monday, November 10, 2003

	Found this faded fern in the woods. Thought it looked pretty against the colors of the leaves in the background. Many species of ferns fade to a lighter color in the fall. The Christmas fern (Polystichum
	acrostichoides) is an exception in that it remains green throughout the winter. In the spring, the new fiddleheads come up while the fronds from the previous year are still green.


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